Francine’s Fashion Faux Pas: Part one

Francine: we all love to hate her. (A few people actually do love her ). We probably don’t know enough about her background and her motivations to understand her more kindly…. But these posts are not about analysing Francine’s personality, insecurities etc – I’ll leave that to a Francine fan. My aim is to celebrate the sometimes truly appalling outfits that she wore in seasons one and two. In the first post, we’ll cover Francine’s bad hair days, bad jewellery days and unfortunate outfits. And in the second post, I’ll examine Francine’s best outfits (yes sometimes she looks fabulous) and the little known group of Francine outfits: Francine’s animal-themed outfits. Those with more detailed knowledge of the technicalities of fashion, I need your help. I’m just a per(s)nickety SMK fan. But enough about me, and on with Francine .

Francine’s Hair

Francine’s hair was manageable, up until the time she had a perm (“permanent wave” ) in early season two. The results were unfortunate. Yes, most women did it in those days, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable to the 21st century viewer. And what looks like lashings of mousse didn’t help. She looks more like she’s had an electric shock here (Brunettes Are In).

When you glance briefly at this 1934 Permanent Wave machine, you can see why. Reminds me of someone being connected to an EEG machine .

A misguided SMK hairdresser compounded the problem by added a puppy-for-Christmas bow in The Three Faces of Emily.

And another (slightly more restrained) bow in Car Wars is thankfully slightly camouflaged by her hair colour.

And, The Three Faces of Emily, an Amandaband. Why, I ask with tears in my eyes ?? Notably, this is the episode where Amanda reprises her custom hairband. Bad hair(dresser) day?

A final look, which mercifully disguises the perm but is an abomination in itself, was when Francine copied Amanda’s season one updo (Playing Possum). Lots of curls. Way too many curls. Worked for Amanda, not so good for Francine.

In all honesty, we have to admit that Amanda had some bad hair days – or months – as well

I think Francine looked much better with this updo from “Odds on a Dead Pigeon”

and looks lovely with a French Plait in Life of a Party. Learjet gives credit where credit is due .

Francine’s jewellery

Francine specialised in jewellery of the large, chunky variety.

One of her earliest example (The Artful Dodger) was quite moderate and pretty. But she moved on to large, Egyptianesque necklace – this one was cunningly matched with the colour-coded belt and buckle, and bracelet (Spiderweb). Anyone admit to having one of those belt\buckle combos? I had a lilac (!!) belt with butterfly buckle in my mid-teens. Moving swiftly on from that disastrous choice – Francine liked the necklace so much that she wore it again in Odds on a Dead Pigeon (see the updo photo with the teal top).

A similar offering in Burn Out

A personal non-favourite is the downward “arrow” necklace (A Relative Situation). Francine doesn’t look too happy about it either. I’ve got a nasty feeling it reappears in early season three as well. What is that arrow supposed to be pointing at? Is it supposed to be diverting attention from the curious black with red dot semi-jacket thing that she’s wearing?

Then on to Francine’s secret weapons – her ear-rings. I’m not sure if they’re her equivalent to the spy’s hidden cyanide pill or whether she wears them in case she needs to take out a baddie. Are these from Spiderweb aiming to pierce the external carotid artery? Or is an ear-piece for the first mobile phone?

Next is the less dangerous but rather strange pair from the same episode.

Or these clear ones (Burn Out), bizarrely paired with the pearls and decorative hair comb.

The outfits

In the early part of season one, Francine favours red. I’ve said that I love red, but not the faux tartan look in If Thoughts Could Kill (and who would thought the well-endowed Francine could have looked flat-chested?).

Then we have the Star Trek pinny in Magic Bus or the alternate Star Trek look in Filming Raul and Murder Between Friends (with matching red plastic ear-buttons):

I’m not sure what I think of this red top with mixed up kaftan thingy from Magic Bus. It certainly doesn’t flatter her figure.

“Out of Africa” for the Weekend? Unfortunate colours (grey and beige??), a massive buckle (with large matching necklace) and the hat. No wonder Francine has toothache.

The shapeless, monochromatic look, with half-sleeves (Playing Possum and Life of the Party). The outfit matches her hair colour.

The blue colour isn’t too bad (You Only Die Twice). I can even live with the blue/yellow contrast (just).

But the crowning horror is the loose, brownish trousers. What was she thinking?

48 responses to “Francine’s Fashion Faux Pas: Part one”

Those things she wears on her ears in Spiderweb are just the strangest ear jewelry I have ever seen IN. MY. LIFE.😂 They are ALMOST big enough to fill in the spaces created by some plot holes of our favorite show! 😉

Okay, so I’m a bit behind in reading and responding. I have to say that as we’ve been going through these episodes and I’ve read others thoughts and ideas I have either changed my mind about, become more open-minded about, or seen with new eyes several episodes in regards to liking them more or less and I have done the same with some of the characters. So much of my focus back in the day was on Lee and Amanda and their relationship. I tended to just gloss over episode order, time continuity, and any other glitches. But I think the reason I wasn’t too bothered by any of the fashion atrocities, is because at the time they weren’t really that atrocious, since we all were wearing pretty much the same thing.

I am really starting to appreciate Francine more, so much so that I actually did some research into the fashion of the 80s. Looking back now a good part of her wardrobe seems either science fiction-esque or just way over the top. But when I saw the bows again something clicked and I remembered the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan” with Madonna and how she was big into wearing bows in her hair at the time. Not just any bow, but a big, ostentatious one. At the time big, bold, bright, and colorful was in. Shoulder pads were the rage and big hair was cool. And those huge earrings were also in.

There was also that burgeoning “Yuppie” trend at the time. And what I think SMK did was sort of mix the two in regards to Francine and Amanda. There fashions sort of converged and diverged at the same time. I think that while Francine was more fashion forward and trendy she had some yuppie-ness to her considering her job. She had a bit of an edge and some flashiness, but not rock star flashy. Amanda had some yuppie-ness, but more towards a suburban trend. There was also another character in DSS that was more like Amanda and her fashion was more toned down, but you could still see some trendiness in what she wore.

I guess in a way I’m defending Francine. Because they were trying to be so fashion forward at the time, both Francine and Amanda look so dated in what they wore. Men had less of an issue especially because of the job they were doing. A certain type of suit has always been in fashion and only the types of neckties have wandered back and forth. Lee was put into some basic colors while avoiding those out there hues. Besides Lee’s innate hotness seems to help him transcend most major fashion faux pas and he gets more easily forgiven for any heinousness in his wardrobe.

When I went through season 1 and 2, I was amazed at how good Francine looks often. I sometimes wonder if the powers that be put in the strange outfits to :1) make us laugh or 2) wake us up in otherwise unexciting scenes….

About writing posts: for me, it’s great fun but also a lot of work. I didn’t appreciate how much time Iwsod puts into this blog until I wrote a post. I guess everyone has a system for writing posts and I’m refining what works for me. Doing a season-long theme post, I’ve had to pretty much go through each episode at slight fast forward speed to scan for screen caps and then try to get good images. When that’s done, I organise the images in themes and then fit the themes around a post. Writing the posts is the easy (and most fun) part.
And it’s very exciting to see one’s post online and when you lovely people ‘interact’ with it. I’d encourage lurkers to join in, or, if you’re wary, to ‘like’ posts or comments 🙂

Hi Learjet, thanks for the useful feedback. I think going through a whole season or two like you have is much more work that focusing on just one episode – you collected images from all over.. but I guess you can work on them for as long as you like- you can take a year to write a post if you like.. and it won’t matter. we’ll just be excited and happy to read it when it is done!

Yes I do have a system now for getting my posts done. and I am not exaggerating when I say that everyone pitching in with the transcribing has been a huge help and time saver.

I take photos of an ep automatically with software, but then have to sort through which is best to use – but since starting to use this software I’ve saved loads of time… (It does still take time, but it is soooo worth it- and you guys are very supportive and patient with me – thank you!)

I think if anyone ever wants to have a go – I can insert images if you want me to – if you tell me where to put what. It could make it easier.. always open to fans putting together a post – so if the mood strikes you go for it and just let me know!

Oh so glad you have enjoyed having everyone interact with your posts – it is really fun to see what everyone thinks and comes up with in response isn’t it! You never know where us smk fans will take things 🙂

Oh hey I like your theory about Francine’s wardrobe waking us up in boring scenes. Francine does deliver a lot of exposition!

whahahaha love it! yes it is probably Martha Smith being nice to costuming – and how could Francine have lugged those beers around and then complained in Life of the Party about her waitressing work? I think going with Francine being less capable in that episode – in that context was comedic genius!

Maybe she was supposed to go undercover at that little cafe where Marianna used to work before she was murdered? Or maybe it is from TTTAAC and she was supposed to keep an eye on Amanda when she went to meet Haddy for the first time?

It’s fun to ponder huh! I think there’s a fan fic in there somewhere!!!

This picture that I found is a promotional CBS photo – not sure if you can read it but at the bottom it says ‘On location in Munich – Germany are (Top Left) BEVERLY GARLAND (bottom) MEL STEWART, and MARTHA SMITH, co-stars of ‘Scarecrow and Mrs King.’ Warner Bros. Television’s hour-long adventure/drama series airing Mondays on CBS.
end quote.

Judging by the reference to Munich means this would have been episode -Times they are a changing or Our man in Tegernsee. But.. none of these three co-stars are seen in Our Man in Tegernsee – so I’m going with it being for Times they are a changing.

I think it was a possibility for Amanda’s meeting with Haddy at the bar.. Lee was there in disguise, it makes sense Francine would be also. I think it would have been fun.. though watching Francine smugly converse in German and look down her nose at Amanda the tourist would have been a bit much for me 😉 I like to imagine that it was originally Francine that Amanda was going to spill her beer on 😉 not that I mind how things turned out – but I like the idea of it!
hmm I might watch that ep tonight and keep an eye on the crowd in the background.. maybe Francine is there and I don’t know it?!
I do think that ep is one of Lee’s best looking eps ever!!!!! So umm.. I’ll make the sacrifice and watch it to night.. for research.. for the good of all smk fans who stop by.. because you are all demanding I watch it and report back..
Ahem.. oh who am I kidding?! I just want to watch Lee in that tux and that haircut!! 🙂 Now that is a hair-doooooooo!!!!
bye!

whoo hooo! finally I get to read your Francine post Learjet!! Thanks again for sharing this with us all – I hope you had lots of fun putting it together!

I’m curious to hear how you’ve found the process.. what would you be your advice to others who are thinking of putting together a post or two?
I’d say if you are wanting to do a post or two and give it a go – just put the post together in word and email it to me.. Whether or not you include images is up to you.. but there is no obligation to write a post.. or write more than one – whatever works for you! So Learjet, I’m curious to hear what has worked for you! Feel free to be honest about it 😉

Okay, on with reading your actual post!
I actually don’t hate Francine.. and I believe SMK would be missing something without her – but ‘like’ Francine??!!! lol.. maybe that is a bridge too far! haaaa.. I love to hate her.. and deep down I suspect she is a multi-dimensional character, just like Amanda.. she doesn’t get as much airtime to share with us her story..she clearly has issues!!! Especially with housewives.. though I have vague recollections there is stuff ahead for – maybe they can be included in a future Francine post encompassing season 3 or 4 or both? I am hopeful Learjet will like to do more! 🙂 but again.. no obligation!
So focus iwsod.. Learjet is saying this is not character analysis.. it’s just a fun ride through the rollercoaster that is Francine’s fashions.. I’m holding on tight!!

Hooray! A celebration of appalling outfits sounds like my kind of narky fun 🙂 Francine can take it!

Oh my gosh.. Francine has outfits that are fabulous?! is that her definition or the majority of normal people’s?! I’ll look forward to finding out what you’ve come up with Learjet!
Animal themed outfits?! whwhahahahaa.. can’t wait!!

shocking.. no photos of Francine and Rollo?! haaaa..
Oh my.. that permanent wave machine is a hoot! Great find Learjet! If Francine had hooked up Rollo to that I think she could have done a much better job of squeezing information out of him (and saving the audience from a bout of Nausea!).

Why does the thought of Francine being hooked up to that machine put a smile on my dial?! hahaahhaaha!! Umm the ‘warning lights’ make me worry though!!! what do they warn us about?!

A ‘puppy for christmas bow’?! rofl!!!! love it!! I’m guessing the bow is a madonna influence.. wasn’t she into them?

Francine in a headband.. I feel so much better.. oh yes – very very very bad hair dresser day!

I think the hairdo from playing possum was a hairdo for when they were at defcon 5 – she hides a nuclear weapon in there.. just in case..

Yes the french braid in LOTP is lovely.. I guess that is Francine’s version of a normal person’s hairdo – playing the part. Actually now I think of it, when she had her interview at that agency her hair and outfit was quite lovely- ohhhh maybe that will be in part 2!!!

Very cunning! I’ve had the same thought myself about Francine’s jewellery being weapons.. I did a few memes on that.. but one is season 3.. the other was my favourite meme ever (I mean from the memes that I’ve done-weird how random things tickle your funny bone).. can’t remember what episode it was
oh cool.. I can see it was odds on a dead pigeon..
I think there is definitely room for more jewellery as a weapon meme.. many more!! anyone keen?!!!

That wool pink dress is an abomination. Makes her look 3 sizes bigger.. someone had it in for Francine’s character that day ( maybe KJ got to have a say in Francine’s wardrobe that day?! or.. maybe MS lost a bet?!)

Whooo the burn out necklace.. I love that one.. I call it in an episode somewhere Robo Francine- because to take it off she has to unscrew her head! [I should put Robo Francine in a meme.. I think she deserves it..]

I see red spots! I think I’m coming down with something.. maybe that explains the down arrow?!

Yeah!! love those earrings from spiderweb- looks like a blue tooth receiver!

Whoa.. that faux tartan is scary!!! plaid?!

Star trek looks are hilarious.. was it one of those outfits Lee made the crack about? you know about how if you hang on to something long enough it comes back into fashion?!

what a contrast to when Amanda wears white..

I can live with the blue/yellow top also.. especially with the nice hair.

I like to think the jewelry really is a weapon in disguise. especially those earrings in Spiderweb. I love it that the show even makes fun of her wardrobe with the comments they make about it in Murder Between Friends and Vigilante Mothers. Did we ever get to see Francine in a formal gown? That could have been interesting.

Oh boy. Now I got that mental image of Francine in a formal gown, crouching somewhere – out of the line of fire – plucking off her jewelry and assembling it into a gun … We do know what kind of stuff she hides in her heels, after all: explosives, to get out of a crate Brody locked her up in … XD

Hi Khell! And so happy to see you’ve decided to make your first comment on a Francine post – how appropriate! I know from Ned’s that you are a Francine fan. I am too, to a certain extent, if only because I think I can relate to her better than Amanda sometimes, despite her wardrobe and jewelry choices.

I see from your comment and mention of Brody (Brody who?) that you’re probably unaware that iwsod has asked us not to get ahead of where we are in the walk on JWWM? There is a side note on the right side of the blog if you scroll down. I think it is hard to discuss Francine’s character (all points good and bad) without getting ahead of the blog, but Ned’s is the perfect place to do that! I went ahead and started a Francine thread at Ned’s if anyone wants to discuss Francine ahead of the blog. There really is a lot to discuss!

Have you always liked Francine? I think up until this point in the series, my heart is still softening toward her. I have respect for her skills and abilities, but don’t care for her seemingly constant condescension toward Amanda. I think I first started to actually like Francine in LOTParty, where we got to see a completely different view of her.

Ah, sorry for the Brody comment, didn’t see the note. 😦 And yes, it is difficult to really discuss Francine without getting ahead of the blog … 🙂

I’m not sure but I think I’ve always liked Francine. I seem to recall that I liked her even when I was a kid and watched SMK for the first time. Francine doesn’t feature in the first few fanfics I ever wrote (SMK-Knight Rider-Crossovers) but that was probably because I tried to restrict myself in regards to how many characters to use and, honestly, you can’t have Lee in a story without Amanda, right? 😉 (Plus, back then, I probably didn’t know how to write Francine even though I liked her – that was when I was 13 or 14 years old and I guess Amanda and Lee were just easier to write for a teenager …)

“LIfe of the Party” is a great Francine episode (that’s what I call the episodes where she’s got more than just five minutes of screen time lol) and there’s also some interesting hints about her in that one. Not gonna go in depth here, that’s what Ned’s is for, after all. 🙂

Morley, I think we only see a formal gown belonging to Francine ie that sparkly blue and white formal top and jacket (which they mysteriously call a gown!?) which Francine is bludgeoned into lending to Amanda in “The Times They Are…”.

As you all know I’m a member of that rare breed that calls itself “Francine fan”. That said – yes, there’s moments (and quite a few of those, I’m afraid) where I’d like to smack her. Hard. Like some of the times when she’s being mean to Amanda and I’m all “Aw, c’mon Francine, you’re better than that!” Or when she’s wearing one of those outfits that make me wonder “Now, how the blazes did you end up wearing THAT? Did someone force you at gunpoint to put it on? Or did you just close your eyes and randomly grab stuff from your closet?” The truth probably is – though Francine imho does care a lot what people think of her professionally, she doesn’t really care about what they think of her as a person (provided it goes along with the image she wants to project) and thus, she doesn’t care what people think about how she dresses and that’s how she ends up with all those outfits. So, assuming the image she wants to project is – in short – “I do what I want!”, well, then what better way to say that than wear stuff like the clothes learjet shows in her post? 🙂

That said, I’m not a huge fan of the Perm of Doom either – except in “Wrong Number” where it works great, imho. I think I like Francine’s hair best in season 1 and 2, pre-perm, where it’s still a little longer than later. Also, I agree that pastels seem to suit her best. I really like that pink dress from “Spiderweb” learjet mentions – just ignore the accessories, the colour and style of the dress are great! I also like Francine in red, though (not all of the outfits containing red, mind you, I really could do without the Star Trek theme), mainly because I think red really suits her temper. 🙂

Welcome Khell! Great to see you over here and not just at Neds.
I think she looks better in a orangey red (under the strange black crossover garment) than the other reds. Maybe she should have had red hair. Suits her more than being angelically fair (I think all this red is making go all Anne of Green Gables!)

“At times” is the key phrase, jule! And yes, Francine does have her good points. They just haven’t come out very often for us to see. Sometime in the future it would be fun to really look at Francine’s character and how it changes throughout the show – or maybe doesn’t change so much as it is revealed. It has many different facets!

I think reading Khell’s stories has made me realise that, if you dig a bit below the surface, Francine’s pretty human. I think it’s been said that MS wasn’t too happy with what the hair stylist did with her hair. And I’m sure a few of us had bad perms. I didn’t but I did have some dubious highlights back in the day 😳

Actually, I didn’t think the “Out of Africa” look was so bad. Earth tones work pretty well for Francine with a little light blue to bring out the color in her eyes. I don’t know much about fashion, but with her light hair and eyes, pastels generally seem to work well for her.

I think she should wear more of them instead of those funky black and red things. Star Trek designs and ladybug color are a definite no (although it’s kind of humorous to picture her as an Uhura type character, telling Billy that she’s picking up distress signals 🙂 ).

Her earrings are usually pretty hilarious, too. If they actually are secret weapons or hidden spy devices, it would make a lot more sense and be a lot more cool. 🙂

I also think she looks good in pastel – better than Amanda does IMHO (I’m feeling controversial 🙂 – in the second Francine post, this will be explored further.
She’d certainly be able to hide a microphone or communication system in those ear-rings; maybe lock-picks or a bomb detonating device?

lol! Maybe she does keep an Uhura-type communication device in her earrings. 😉

I was thinking about colors earlier, which I tend to notice faster in clothing than actual fashions, and I agree with you about the pastels. Francine’s a definite spring, but I’m not quite sure what to call Amanda. I’m a definite winter, but Amanda’s hair and eyes aren’t quite as dark as mine are. She’s not really a pastels person, although I think she has a pink outfit that I thought looked nice (not the pajama one 😛 ). Maybe she’s more of a jewel tone person? I think she had a blue dress that looked nice on her, too. Her best outfits tend to be black and white.

Francine! This is going to be fun! I am not a Francine hater at all, in fact I quite like her – at times. She has some of the best lines (albeit some of them rude to Amanda) and when you get down to the heart of the matter, she really has some redeeming qualities. But very few redeeming outfits and hairdos – LOL!

I fogot about that perm she had in BAI! I think I block it out because that one scene with her and the purse-snatcher turns my stomach and I actually fast forward (it is the only SMK scene I won’t watch). It looks like she’s got a Brillo pad on her head! And that permanent machine? Where did you unearth that photo? Why on earth would someone go to those lengths just for a few curls???

Love the pic of Francine with the bow in CW. I can just hear her saying, “Allo?” and “You yutz!”

Oh gosh – I didn’t recall that even she wore the Amandaband. Doesn’t she know that Amanda wore them too? She couldn’t possibly have! There’s no way Francine would EVER wear the same thing as Amanda!!! Seriously, did Francine ever see Amanda in one of her famous Amandabands?

Oh! That Possum curly-top pic is awful!!! Totally agree with you on the understated updo in OOADP and the plaiting (how do you say that?) in LOTP.

Is it supposed to be diverting attention from the curious black with red dot semi-jacket thing that she’s wearing?

LOL 🙂 What is that polka-dot thing?? Actually, her hair is not too bad in that pic either.

Or is an ear-piece for the first mobile phone?

A girl ahead of her time? Too funny – it would have been awesome if she did have some sort of poison pill in her giganotosaurus-sized earrings – that or an extra bullet or two for her gun.

E-gads…I had a home-sewn front zip jacket in the 80s with a very similar plaid blue/black/red/white pattern. Mine didn’t have the pop-up collar though, nor did I accessorize with a big red bangle or those ridiculous little curly q’s on the side of my forehead though 🙂

Her Star Trek outfits seem out of place for the bullpen, but I can’t say that I mind them compared to some of her other fashion offenses. But why is it that I think of Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan when I see her in that awful v-front thing? I can’t believe Francine wore that red/black jacket and kaftan twice!

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